Bleeding Heart
by k.tree
Summary: Inuyasha & Kagome were once the best of friends, but his mother's death forced them apart. When Kagome finds herself wrapped up in an unfortunate series of events, the both of them discover things about themselves and each other that they have needed all along. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, senior year of high school.


**A/N:** Okay, so I first wrote this fic back when I was a freshman in high school. I stumbled upon it and am rewriting it with more detail and mature content chapter by chapter! It seemed to get a lot of love back when I was a really avid writer, and I SUCKED at writing then, lol. So I wanted to try my hand at this again. That being said, the rating is due to what content I plan to write for later chapters. I'll post the next chapters as I rewrite them in due time :) Also, I for sure don't own Inuyasha or any of the supporting characters.

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A nervous smile tugs at my lips when I make eye contact with him. I had just looked up from my schoolwork to see him sitting on the other side of the restaurant I've decided to study at, watching me.

He always seems to be watching me.

Maybe he's protective? I'm not quite sure. Things have just always been this way. I don't ask questions anymore. I go about my daily life and I let him exist. Protective doesn't make much sense, but nothing makes much sense anymore these days.

I drop my head back down to my work. I can still feel his eyes on me, but I continue as normal. I'm used to it now.

Inuyasha and I used to be friends. Maybe we still are? I don't know. I haven't tried. So much time has passed and with that, the distance between us has grown. We may have grown up together, but he's a stranger to me now. A lot can happen in just a few short years, especially when they're the years of youth. We're all growing and changing, struggling to find ourselves. Now we're in our last year of high school, and I think it's been three years since we've had an actual conversation.

That being said, I have fond memories of us when we were younger. Despite the kids making fun of us for "cooties" and the like, elementary school was a blast. Our families were close and we spent nearly every minute together, young and innocent.

Things changed when his mother died. She suddenly fell ill and passed away shortly before we finished sixth grade. He became distant, depressed, someone I didn't know. I tried to help. I tried to reach out and understand his pain, but his mother was all he had; he never knew his father. Everything I said to him was met with basic replies. I was treated as nothing more than an acquaintance.

I spent the summer after sixth grade alone.

Seventh grade was different. Inuyasha wasn't by my side. I spent the year trying to make new friends and forget the years of time I spent with him. I thought that maybe he just needed a few months to be alone and cope with everything, but that wasn't the case. Years went by. Nothing changed.

During all that time I managed to make plenty of friends and keep my grades up, and the only thing Inuyasha seems to have done is find the wrong crowd. I've kept my distance by choice. His friends have done enough to harass me and some of the other girls I go to school with.

I'm torn away from my thoughts when I hear a sort of commotion near the entrance of the diner. I glance up slightly through my raven hair, only to see Byakuya and Juromaru walking in to meet Inuyasha at his table.

I focus on my homework. I pretend I didn't see them. I shrink into my booth. The last thing I need is another run-in with Byakuya, but my breath catches in my throat when I feel the weight of the booth shift next to me. I force my pencil onto my paper, pretending to do my work. The graphite breaks from the pressure.

"Hey," I hear a voice say as a hand snakes its way to my thigh, fingertips trailing along the edge of my green pleated skirt.

I don't move. Instead, I raise my head confidently, my brown eyes boring into his.

"What do you want, Byakuya? I'm trying to do some work, you know."

"It's cute that you're so studious." His voice slithers its way into my ears. "There's no reason for you to be so cold."

I roll my eyes. "Are you done?"

"Not yet," he scoffs, his arm reaching around my waist. I pull back, but his grip is tight. I look up in Inuyasha's direction, but when my eyes meet his he looks away. Juromaru flashes me a wicked smile as he watches Byakuya's advances.

His hand is on my thigh now, fingers creeping under my skirt. My legs are locked tightly together as I look around the diner, but it's late at night and I don't see any staff. His lips are on my neck and my muscles tense. I don't struggle. I wait for it to pass.

"Please leave," I say as sternly as I can.

"Aw, Kagome, don't be like that," he breathes against my neck.

"Leave her alone." A familiar voice cuts through the tension, and my heart skips. I look up to see Inuyasha, face austere yet expressionless.

"Excuse me?" Byakuya spits at him, his hand still resting at my thigh.

"I told you to leave her alone," he repeats, arms crossed. I can't breathe at the sight of him. My head spins with disbelief.

Byakuya stands up suddenly, coming nose to nose with Inuyasha. My white haired classmate doesn't move an inch. I am frozen to the spot while their eyes shoot daggers at each other in the fluorescently lit diner.

Inuyasha's eyes flicker to meet mine. "Kagome, go."

I scramble to gather my belongings as quickly as I can and bolt out of the diner, leaving the two of them to sort their disagreements out. My mind is hazy. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Sure, I've been catcalled. Sure, I've been disrespected. Byakuya has never dared to touch me before, however, and I don't have the slightest idea as to what's gotten into him this time.

I slow my steps when I find myself a few blocks from the diner. I kneel down on the sidewalk to put the books stacked in my arms back into my backpack. I stand and pull the sleeves of my sweatshirt past my wrists, shivering at the cool breeze that blows through the night air.

My phone is ringing. It's Kouga.

I reluctantly answer, the exhaustion of my day catching up with me. He wants to come over. I sigh to myself quietly and accept his offer over the phone.

Kouga is turning his car into my driveway as I reach the front steps. He's smiling at me as he gets out of the car, walking to me quickly before catching me in a warm embrace. I inhale his scent and a feeling of calmness washes over me as his lips press against my forehead. My body relaxes.

"At the diner again?" he asks.

I smile faintly and nod. "Yep. Just one more paper to finish before the end of the week!"

"Proud of you," he says, taking my hand and leading me inside.

I follow. I can't tell him what happened. I don't want Koga to be involved. Having a boyfriend like Kouga certainly comes with its necessary cautions. Byakuya will be murdered by tomorrow morning if I tell him the truth. Koga's possessive nature can be charming, but also exhausting.

It's almost ten. My mom is asleep, and the two of us tiptoe quietly up the stairs to my room. It's not long before Kouga has me pressed against my closed bedroom door, hands roaming underneath my clothes, my mouth assaulted by his. I try to relax, I try to want him, but the day's endeavors have taken more than their toll on me.

I push him softly away in protest. "Kouga, I think I just want to sleep tonight, okay?" I undress myself in silence, leaving nothing but my panties and a tanktop on, and crawl into bed.

Kouga soon follows, but not without a pout. His bare chest is pressed against my back before I know it, his strong arms wrapping around my small body and his nose in my hair. He inhales.

"But babe," he whines, nipping at my ear.

His hands wander. They find my breasts, massaging them lightly. He growls softly in my ear.

I give in and let him take me, pushing earlier events as far out of my mind as they can go.

Once I fall asleep, I still dream of Inuyasha.


End file.
